Quintessence -

Quintessence was an English raga-psych band from London that released the 1969–71 Island albums In Blissful Company, Quintessence, and Dive Deep, followed by the 1972 RCA Victor albums Self and Indweller.

Members: Raja Ram [Ron Rothfield] (vocals, flute, percussion), Shiva Jones [Phil Jones] (vocals, keyboards, percussion, 1969-72), Alan Mostert (lead guitar), Maha Dev [Dave Codling] (rhythm guitar, 1969-72), Sambhu Babaji (bass), Jake Milton (drums)

Background

Quintessence formed in April 1969 in Notting Hill, London, when flutist Raja Ram (Ron Rothfield) and bassist Shambhu Babaji (Richard Vaughan) assembled vocalist-keyboardist Shiva Shankar Jones (Phil Jones), drummer Jake Milton, lead guitarist Allan Mostert, and rhythm guitarist Maha Dev (Dave Codling).

Rothfield was an Australian conservatoire- and jazz-trained flutist who studied with Lennie Tristano in New York and played with Vaughan before both musicians settled in west London. Jones was an Australian singer and harmonica player from Sydney who fronted the Unknown Blues and cut the 1967 Festival single “If I Had a Ticket” (“Three Hundred Pounds of Joy”). Milton was a jazz-trained drummer of Canadian background, Mostert was a teenaged guitarist from Mauritius, and Codling was a Leeds-born rhythm guitarist and former St. Albans art teacher.

Rothfield and Vaughan placed a March 1969 Melody Maker advertisement for jazz-rock musicians and held auditions at All Saints Hall off Portobello Road. Swami Ambikananda gave several members the adopted names used on Quintessence records. Poet Stanley Barr entered the circle as manager and lyricist, and the group used its Oxford Gardens base as a meeting point for musicians, artists, and ashram associates.

Quintessence played early shows at All Saints Church, Camden Arts Lab, and the Roundhouse, where June 1969 posters billed them as Shiva and the Quintessence. Early sets introduced “Giants,” “Pearl and Bird,” and “Ganga Mai,” with flute, lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, bells, hand percussion, and mantra-based vocal material.

Chris Blackwell and Muff Winwood heard the group during a July 1969 basement rehearsal below a Notting Hill fish-and-chip shop. Island Records signed Quintessence soon after, while NEMS booked the band at the Roundhouse, the Speakeasy, Reading University, and Hyde Park. In August 1969, Quintessence entered the studio with arranger-producer John Barham for the sessions that became In Blissful Company.

In Blissful Company

Quintessence released their debut album, In Blissful Company, in November 1969 on Island.

The album presents the group’s devotional song format in its first studio form. Shiva Shankar Jones carries the lead voice and keyboard parts over the Allan Mostert–Maha Dev guitar line. Raja Ram adds flute, bells, and percussion; Shambhu Babaji and Jake Milton anchor the rhythm section. John Barham shapes the album through musical direction and arrangements, with co-composer credits on “Chant” and “Midnight Mode.” Sitar player Mike and tamboura player Surya extend the two named outside credits.

“Giants” braids chant phrases with a wah-wah guitar break and loose jam turns. “Manco Capac” threads a flute line through a blues-leaning break. “Body” hardens the lead tone around Shiva’s vocal and sparse keyboard color. “Gange Mai” circles repetitive vocal figures into a hypnotic sway. “Chant” drifts on sitar drone, Hare Krishna phrases, and an English-carol turn. “Pearl and Bird” places Shiva’s widest vocal span over a simpler song line. “Notting Hill Gate” roughens its communal lyric with thicker low-end thump. “Midnight Mode” starts a cappella, stretches through solo lines, and fades into a heavy drone.

A1. “Giants” (4:37) – Ram–Jones–Barr
A2. “Manco Capac” (5:17) – Ram–Babaji–Jones
A3. “Body” (3:34) – Mostert–Milton–Babaji–Jones
A4. “Gange Mai” (4:00) – Ram–Babaji–Jones
A5. “Chant” (3:02) – Barham–Jones

B1. “Pearl and Bird” (3:57) – Mostert–Ram–Babaji
B2. “Notting Hill Gate” (4:38) – Ram–Jones
B3. “Midnight Mode” (9:15) – Mostert–Barham–Ram–Jones

Quintessence recorded In Blissful Company during two-week sessions at Morgan Studios, London. John Barham replaced the initial producer early in the sessions and served as producer, musical director, and arranger.

In Blissful Company appeared in a Barney Bubbles–J. Moonman gatefold with front and back cover art by Gopala. The outer image shows a seated deity with a yellow halo, mountain scenery, and a lotus foreground. The original package included a die-cut booklet and interior photographs of the group’s extended ashram.

In January 1970, Island issued a new recording of “Notting Hill Gate” as a single (b/w “Move Into the Light”).

Quintessence

Quintessence released their second album, Quintessence, in June 1970 on Island.

The album retains the same sextet and reduces outside credit to Barham’s musical direction, arrangements, and production. Quintessence joins studio titles with two short St Pancras Town Hall live excerpts, “Burning Bush” and “St. Pancras.” Stanley Barr supplies lyrics on “High on Mt. Kailash” and “Twilight Zones,” while Barham receives conception credits on “Prisms” and “Infinitum.”

“Jesus, Buddha, Moses, Gauranga” intones chant-like lead and backing voices around flute and keyboard figures. “Sea of Immortality” opens with Hare Krishna traces, then quickens into a wah-wah guitar solo. “High on Mt. Kailash” coils around chanted language, sitar color, percussion, and delicate piano. “Burning Bush” erupts from a live heavy intro into feedback-laced lead. “Shiva’s Chant” condenses the communal chant.

“Prisms” isolates an echoed solo line. “Twilight Zones” climbs from a soothing vocal mix to a sharper mid-song riff and louder close. “Maha Mantra” compresses the Hare Krishna chant. “Only Love” gathers close voices into a collective rise. “St. Pancras” drives fuzzed lead lines into wah-wah feedback. “Infinitum” settles on chant and drone.

A1. “Jesus, Buddha, Moses, Gauranga” (5:01)
A2. “Sea of Immortality” (5:19)
A3. “High on Mt. Kailash (Excerpt From Opera)” (5:51) – lyrics: Barr
A4. “Burning Bush” (live) (2:35)
A5. “Shiva’s Chant” (2:13)

B1. “Prisms” (3:12) – conception: Barham
B2. “Twilight Zones” (5:18) – lyrics: Barr
B3. “Maha Mantra” (1:37)
B4. “Only Love” (3:54)
B5. “St. Pancras” (live) (6:19)
B6. “Infinitum” (1:42) – conception: Barham

Quintessence made the album with John Barham as producer, musical director, and arranger. In March 1970, Island recorded a St Pancras Town Hall concert that yielded “Burning Bush” and “St. Pancras” for the LP.

Quintessence features front-cover photography by Richard Polak and paintings by Gopala. The sleeve front shows mirrored stage figures under bright spotlights. The rear panel places an Om-centered mandala on orange ground above the printed lineup and dedication.

Island placed a live “Jesus, Buddha, Moses, Gauranga” from the same St Pancras concert on the June 1970 sampler Bumpers. Quintessence reached No. 22 on the Official Albums Chart.

Dive Deep

Quintessence released their third studio album, Dive Deep, in March 1971 on Island.

Dive Deep gives the Island-period sextet six extended titles, with Stanley Barr lyric credits on “Dance for the One” and “Epitaph for Tomorrow” and Swami Ambikananda’s source credit on “Sri Ram Chant.” Babaji adds Jew’s harp and acoustic guitar to his bass role; Jones adds hand percussion to vocals and keyboards. Mostert adds veena to lead guitar. Vidya Bahen Jee sings on “Sri Ram Chant.” Sita Devi Jee and Musetta add tamboura; Sita also plays violin. Ned Balen plays tabla and shenai.

“Dance for the One” unspools a long wandering flute prelude before the jam opens. “Brahman” darkens repeated title text against a severe theme. “Epitaph for Tomorrow” extends a guitar solo through the song body. “Sri Ram Chant” locks sitar, mantra, and Indian-rhythm figures into a sustained devotional cycle.

A1. “Dive Deep” (4:44)
A2. “Dance for the One” (10:45) – lyrics: Barr
A3. “Brahman” (4:17)

B1. “The Seer” (6:00)
B2. “Epitaph for Tomorrow” (8:21) – lyrics: Barr
B3. “Sri Ram Chant” (7:58) – Ambikananda

Quintessence recorded Dive Deep at Island Studios, London, with John Barham and the group as producers.

Dive Deep appeared in a Sumiko sleeve with a dense red-orange mandala at the center, blue and green fan shapes around the design, and small inset portraits of the six members. Floral clusters occupy the corners; curved orange lettering carries the group name and album title.

Dive Deep reached No. 43 on the Official Albums Chart.

Self

Quintessence released their fourth studio album, Self, in May 1972 on RCA Victor.

Self splits the six-piece lineup between a studio side and a live side. Side one comes from Olympic Studios, London, with Simon Lanzon on piano for “Wonders of the Universe” and Swami Ambikananda on the title piece. Side two documents “Freedom” and “Water Goddess” from a December 11, 1971, Exeter University performance. The album marks the last Quintessence LP with Shiva Shankar Jones and Maha Dev.

“Cosmic Surfer” springs through an up-tempo vocal with flute backing. “Wonders of the Universe” places Shiva’s vocal over piano and acoustic strum, with chant folded into the song. “Vishnu Narain” phases from chant into a stronger vocal section and electric-guitar break. “Hallelujad” starts slowly, then accelerates through the title chant and layered voices.

“Celestial Procession” places birds, water, sheep, and a brief drone in a miniature interlude. “Self” sets accordion under choir-like recitation and prayer chant. “Freedom” crosses from vocal lines into solos, then slows toward a keyboard passage. “Water Goddess” rises through vocal chanting, audience claps, and call-and-response lines.

A1. “Cosmic Surfer” (3:49)
A2. “Wonders of the Universe” (4:13)
A3. “Vishnu-Narain” (6:25)
A4. “Hallelujad” (4:15)

B1. “Celestial Procession” (1:20)
B2. “Self” (3:08)
B3. “Freedom” (live) (6:45)
B4. “Water Goddess” (live) (14:26)

Quintessence recorded the studio side of Self at Olympic Studios, London. The group produced and arranged the album.

Self appeared in an RCA Victor sleeve with six monochrome headshots arranged in two rows. The back panel prints lyrics, the studio/live division, the Exeter University live credit, and an Om symbol below the central text block.

In 1971, RCA Neon issued “Sweet Jesus” as a single (b/w “You Never Stay the Same”). Later CD editions add both sides as bonus tracks. Self reached No. 50 on the Official Albums Chart.

Indweller

Quintessence released their fifth studio album, Indweller, in December 1972 on RCA Victor.

Indweller presents the final Quintessence studio lineup as a four-piece of Raja Ram, Mostert, Babaji, and Milton. The album contains nine Mostert–Rothfield–Vaughan–Milton titles plus two Swami Ambikananda songs, “Jesus My Life” and “Sai Baba.” The Quintessence Ashram Singers add choral voices, while Mike Bobak engineers and Arun Chakraverty cuts the lacquer.

“It’s All the Same” works a percussive acoustic strum under the sung return, then turns to a jazzy guitar solo. “Butterfly Music” sketches a short instrumental with a compact fade treatment. “Indweller” narrows the same jazzy language into another brief instrumental. “Bliss Trip” settles on a low drone, layered flute lines, subtle percussion, and sound effects.

A1. “Jesus My Life” (3:39) – Ambikananda
A2. “Butterfly Music” (1:03)
A3. “It’s All the Same” (7:08)
A4. “Indweller” (2:30)
A5. “Holy Roller” (4:16)
A6. “Portable Realm” (1:30)

B1. “Sai Baba” (3:24) – Ambikananda
B2. “On the Other Side of the Wall” (3:38)
B3. “Dedication” (2:46)
B4. “Bliss Trip” (6:25)
B5. “Mother of the Universe” (1:46)

Quintessence recorded Indweller in July 1972 at Morgan Studios, London. The group produced the album with engineer Mike Bobak.

Indweller appeared in an RCA Victor sleeve built around a distorted room photograph of the four-piece lineup. The back cover uses a black field with track text above a color group portrait; the orange RCA Victor label lists the side-one titles and Blue Mountain Music publishing.

Postlude

After Indweller, Raja Ram continued Quintessence with bassist Richard “Shambhu Babaji” Vaughan, drummer Jake Milton, and lead guitarist Allan Mostert. The reduced lineup played intermittent dates and carried the name through the end of the decade.

Phil “Shiva” Jones and Dave “Maha Dev” Codling formed Kala after their June 1972 dismissal from Quintessence. In 1973, Bradley’s issued the single “Travelling Home” (“Still Got Time”) and the album Kala. The label also included two live Kala recordings on Bradley’s Roadshow: Live at the Marquee. John Barham produced and arranged Kala. Bradley’s later pressed Jones toward a glam-era visual presentation, and Jones rejected the proposal. Kala ended before a second album.

Jones moved to the United States later in the decade. During 1977–85, he recorded with Room 101 and Big Children at studios in Woodstock, Hurley, Manhattan, and Pensacola. The material remained unreleased until the archival Tumbleweed Dreams.

Codling worked in Los Angeles with Made in Japan by 1980. Cannon Films used the group’s “The Cooler” in New Year’s Evil and pressed the song as a promotional single with “Suicide Ways”.

In 1979, Jake Milton joined Blurt in Stroud with his brother Ted Milton and guitarist Pete Creese. The trio issued the 1980 single “My Mother Was a Friend of an Enemy of the People” (“Get”), the 1981 live album In Berlin, and the 1982 studio album Blurt.

Discography: